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[UKGov] What Does Congress Do?

Day 1,680, 12:44 • Published in United Kingdom

• by eUK Home Office

This is article is here to explain what parliament or 'congress' does...

What does congress actually do?

Congress is the elected parliament of the eUK. Every month there are congressional elections with each region of the eUK voting for congressmen.

In-game, there are a limited number of tasks a congressman engages him/herself in, for instance:

- voting on proposals (these can be MPP proposals, tax proposals, impeachment etc)
- making a proposal
- accepting / declining a citizenship approval request

However it’s off-game, in the eUK forums, where a congressman’s work is best effected.

www.erepublik.co.uk

The eUK forums have a Voting Hall, a Public Discussion forum and also a sensitive discussion forum and sensitive issues voting hall, all of which are of interest to congressman.

Indeed, as most congress members are now aware, a lot of the button pushing they do in-game has to go through proper procedure off-game first (e.g. citizenship approvals).

Most of this “proper procedure” - aka the law - is contained in the eUK statute book here:

The Statute Book

As you can see, there are only two statutes in eUK law – the Leadership Act and the Congressional Procedure Act.

These laws have been voted on, amended and agreed by past congresses.

A wise congressman will make sure s/he is aware of these statutes and how they are implemented.

There is also some guidance on how these statutes should be applied and what convention is usually followed, here:

Guidance and convention

Of course, the guidance notes above are just that – only guidance notes. It is the statutes that reign supreme over eUK law.

However, it is the off-game realm where the role of the eUK congressman really comes alive.

Getting involved in policy discussion, forming proposals and voting on proposals are all a big part of what a congressman does off-game.

Citizenship Applications are also considered off-game.

Below are links to the eUK forums public policy discussion forum and the Citizenship Approvals threa😛

Public Discussion
Citizenship Approvals Thread

As for proposals, almost anything can make it into law if congressmen want to vote for it.

Want to change the State Religion to Dioism? Fine. Just propose the bill in the Public Discussion, get the 10 sponsors needed then it goes to a vote \o/

It is an interesting and little known fact that it only takes 10 ordinary citizens to sponsor a bill and indeed anyone can propose a bill - you do not have to be a congressman to propose or discuss a bill, however only congressmen can vote on a bill.

The unwritten part of the job description however is probably the most important part – holding the Executive to account.

What this means in effect is that the eUK relies on congressmen to make sure the Prime Minister and his/her ministers are doing their jobs properly. Ministers, of course, are usually loyal to the Government and will act as its mouth-pieces. Congressmen, on the other hand, may feel no such loyality and have the democratic mandate to challenge and oppose.

Without a “Leader-of-the-Opposition” as such in the eUK politik, it is therefore congressmen who are charged with examining the work of a Government and holding it to account.

Upholding the public trust in this regard is therefore the solemn duty of a congressmen and one of which they should be proud.

Keep an eye out for UK government articles. You can spot government articles by the [UKGov] tag. Be sure to vote for any articles you see with that, and subscribe to the newspaper, as these will keep you informed and on top of the game.